Chakra Mini Quilt WIP

I made pretty good progress on quilting the Chakra Mini Quilt over the weekend, and I thought I’d share a bit more about the “in progress” portion of quilting these detailed chakra / medallions. I am using my domestic machine, Olive (a Bernina 820), and I have 12wt Aurifil in the bobbin and 50wt on the top. I went through an extensive process to determine that this is the best set up for my machine, and I wrote a guest post for the Aurifil Auribuzz blog about that process: Guest Post: Quilting With Aurifil’s 12wt by Quilting Jetgirl. You may find when trying out different combinations with your machine that 12wt works just fine on the top with a large enough needle (many people have success with a 100 needle).

So after drawing out each chakra and medallion design using a Mark-B-Gone washable marker, I free motion quilt with the drawing up and 50wt on top. The 12wt side will be the “front” when the quilt is complete. Once the quilting is all done, I will wash the quilt top to remove the marker and block it square and flat to dry before trimming square and binding.

Each chakra requires 4 spools of thread: I use a lighter shade of the color on the outside of each chakra and a deeper, richer color for the center. And each color takes 2 weights of thread (12, 50).

Once again, I am loving how the yellow chakra turned out; I did not change its design from the first mini quilt. All the others have new interior motifs this time around.

Chakra Mini Quilt WIP

I really and truly believe that if you can draw it, you can quilt it. If you are hesitant to start free motion quilting, spend some time drawing designs with pencil and paper. Then mark out some of those designs using a marking device on fabric and practice tracing what you have drawn. It’s working well for me on this project, I believe!

So beautiful! It’s almost time for me to bite the bullet so to speak and try free motion quilting! You make it look so easy I see the beautiful designs you come up with and it makes me want to jump in and try it! I can’t wait to see it all finished and bound!

About Yvonne

Yvonne @Quilting Jetgirl Quilter | Designer | Tech Editor | Blogger

Yvonne is a former aerospace engineer turned modern quilter, designer, and technical editor. She was introduced to quilting by her paternal grandmother in high school when her grandmother offered to hand quilt a twin-size quilt to use in her college dorm room if Yvonne made the quilt top. Now, 25 years later, Yvonne has developed a style that bridges her technical background and love of bold color, specializing in transparency color play and bold, geometric designs. Yvonne’s quilts have been featured in numerous national and international magazines, quilt shows, and Modern Quilts: Designs of the New Century. She lives in Tehachapi, California, with her husband.